Looking for a 9 inch

[garrett66]

I've been looking for a 9 inch rear to swap into my 66 lately and I know the 57-59 rancheros are supposed to fit in well but how about a 1960-ish ranchero? I'm thinking the donor is the second generation of the ranchero. I crawled underneath and it measured out at like 52 1/2 for just the bare housing. For the life of me I couldn't distinguish if it was a 9 inch or not. Anybody know if the 1960 ranchero came with a 9 inch?

 

[shoguun]

not sure about the ranchero but the way to tell the difference between an 8 and a 9 is a nine is circle shaped and a 8 is more oval shaped

Ford nine inch differential cases +

 

[chromedog]

60ish? not 100 percent sure when the change took place, but the ranchero went to a falcon platform around that time. for the 57-59 rear, it doesnt have to be a ranchero.. fairlanes, galaxies, mercurys, and even the lowly edsel should be looked at as a donor...mine came from a 292 galaxie (2.90 open carrier) 6 cylinder cars will yeild a better gear ratio. btw, if a 9/16 socket fits onto the bottom 2 nuts, its an 8".

 

[garrett66]

Hey, thanks. I'm pretty sure its an 8 inch. I can use a 9/16 socket on the bottom 2 nuts and its more oval shaped than it is round. I don;t know the exact year of the car but i found the axle tag. Its a WDW-J 8MD
2.79 8 530A
I would assume that the lone "8" means its for sure an 8".

 

[shoguun]

check the junkyard for them. i was there today and i must have seen at least 5 or 6. Not sure if they are mustang compatible but you can at least get a 3rd member

 

[zigmont]

9 inch housing

For what it's worth, I recently purchased a custom 9 inch housing on eBay that fits my 65 Stang for about $275. It allowed me to use my 8 inch backing plates, drums, axles, emergency brake cables, etc. Granted, the axles are 28 spline, but unless you plan to launch with slicks, the 28 spline axles should be OK. Also, you can still upgrade to disc brakes if you really want to. If anyone is interested, I can probably find the link to the eBay auction that sells these housings.

 

[96 DOHC Cobra]

Thwe "8MD" part of the ID tag is the assembly date. It tells you the rear is from a 69. Assembled 1968 (8), December (M), fourth week (D).

 

[rebel65]

60ish? not 100 percent sure when the change took place, but the ranchero went to a falcon platform around that time. for the 57-59 rear, it doesnt have to be a ranchero.. fairlanes, galaxies, mercurys, and even the lowly edsel should be looked at as a donor...mine came from a 292 galaxie (2.90 open carrier) 6 cylinder cars will yeild a better gear ratio. btw, if a 9/16 socket fits onto the bottom 2 nuts, its an 8".

the whole point of the 57-9 ranchero 9's is that it fits exact.

 

[garrett66]

Thanks. The ranchero's definitely not a '69 so it must have been swapped at some point. It was the right width and all but its no upgrade over what I have now.

 

[chromedog]

ALL the 57-59 fairlane, galaxie rears are a direct bolt in for the 65,66 mustang. the only difference are the u bolts, and shock plates(been there, done that) why would a ranchero be any different than a passenger car, anyway? they were nothing more than a topless wagon, which was a 4 door with a tailgate, right?

 

[gjz30075]

Its a WDW-J 8MD
2.79 8 530A
I would assume that the lone "8" means its for sure an 8".

I know the 2.79 refers to the ratio, ie, 2.79 to 1, commonly refered to as 2.8 to 1.

 

[ultrastang]

'57-'59 Ford passenger car 9-inch rear ends and '57-'59 Ranchero/Station wagon 9-inch rear ends are the same width as a '65/'66 Mustang's rear end [52¼" wide bare housing width].

Only difference between '57-'59 big car 9-inch and '57-'59 Ranchero/station wagon 9-inch housings are the housing's end flanges. Regular big car rears have small axle bearings just like the '65-'73 Mustang 8- & 9-inch rear ends. Ranchero/station wagons had large axle bearings.

'65/'66 Mustang rear end U-bolts are 2½". '57-'59 Ford big car 9-inch rear U-bolts are 3".

Some '75-'80 Granadas/Monarchs also had optional 9-inch drum or 9-inch disc brake rear ends. These also have a bare housing width of 52¼" wide. The 9-inch drum brake version used 2¾" U-bolts [same as '67-'73 Mustangs]. The 9-inch disc brake rear ends used 3" U-bolts.